


Two Steps Ahead

by Roguefemme



Category: Star Wars, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Thrawn Trilogy - Timothy Zahn, Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-26
Updated: 2017-01-26
Packaged: 2018-09-20 02:46:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9472070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roguefemme/pseuds/Roguefemme
Summary: Commander Thrawn wasn't the easiest instructor at the Imperial Space Academy, and his students quickly learned they couldn't get anything past him, but Thrawn has a way of winning loyalty.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a mention from one of the computer games that Thrawn taught at the Imperial Academy. Given his fondness for casually teaching his officers in his methods, he must have been a great instructor.
> 
> Posting this unbetaed, and I apologize if it's unpolished. It's also my first attempt at writing our favorite Chiss strategist, so feel free to let me know if it could be improved.

  
"Can anyone tell me what your duty as a commander would be when you are faced with a battle you cannot win?" Imperial Academy instructor Commander Thrawn leaned on his desk and swept his gaze over the assembled cadets seated in individual desks neatly arrayed before him. Although their expressions were uniformly alert and attentive, Thrawn could discern small details of expression and tells that indicated which of his students were truly eager to listen and learn and which merely making a show of it.  
  
Shortly after Commander Thrawn started teaching Strategy and Tactics at the Imperial Space Academy, it became obvious that opinions of him could scarcely be more varied. Some cadets scorned the idea of an _alien_ teaching future officers of the Empire, although even the most stubborn eventually gave up attempting to question his competence - his _brilliance_ \- after taking his classes.  
  
Others among his students took to him with the fervent admiration at which the young and idealistic excel. Some of the most dedicated of his students had been snidely dubbed "Thrawn's crew", but the implied insult fell flat as most of them claimed the title with defiant pride. That many of them were female, nonhuman, or otherwise 'outcasts' in the Academy student body only made the group more tightknit and protective both of each other and of their favored instructor.  
  
"My father says there's no such thing as an unwinnable battle, just inferior soldiers," interjected Cadet Conor Deccol, an arrogantly self-satisfied young man from one of the Core Worlds. Although in the past the cadet had made little effort to veil his opinion that no _alien_ should be teaching at the Academy, nonetheless one steady glare from Thrawn's glowing red eyes made him subside and slide down fractionally in his seat.  
  
"Is that what he told you after the cadets vs. midshipmen shockball tournament last month?" this from Cadet Pelli Sheplin, who gave her classmate a smile so sweet it could only be sarcastic as she reminded him of his team's sound defeat. The arrogant young man bristled at her comment and the resultant murmur of amusement from the class.  
  
"Cadets," Thrawn said calmly, almost lazily in his unruffled assurance that they would obey. "Deccol, you will keep your remarks to yourself until and unless I give you permission to share them. Understood?" Not even deigning to acknowledge the boy's resentfully mumbled apology, Thrawn turned his eyes upon the other cadet. "Sheplin, stay on task."  
  
"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir," she said smartly, almost managing to sound repentant. Thrawn held her gaze a moment longer and she dropped her eyes.  
  
In front of her, Cadet Nataya Rabor reached back to rub the nape of her neck, but Thrawn knew without having to see it that Rabor was using the gesture to disguise giving her friend a 'good one' sign with her hand. Thrawn gave Rabor a look from the corner of his eyes lest she think she'd gotten something past him. Yet it was only a mildly disapproving look, for both Rabor and Sheplin were genuinely good students and their occasional smart remarks at disrespectful classmates were their way of defending Thrawn. An unnecessary defense, of course, but he still appreciated loyalty.  
  
"Cadet Rabor, can you answer my question?" he queried pointedly to the darker-haired young woman.  
  
Silence hung heavily for a moment as the cadet sought to remember what the question had been, then her face softened in relief as she recalled.  
  
"To avoid it if at all possible?"  
  
A brief nod from him was his only sign of approval. "And if you cannot avoid it?"  
  
"Er... to minimize your losses."  
  
"Exactly," he said, and then turned away to address the class. "Use whatever advantage or escape you can to preserve your ships and crew. Never sacrifice them unless it is necessary for ultimate victory. There will always be other opportunities to fight from better position, but not if you and your crew are dead from a futile battle. Forget whatever you may have learned from adventure holos or tales; throwing away ships and warriors on impossible battles out of pride or stubbornness is one of the rankest misdeeds a commander can commit. Your duty as a commander is to the Empire first and your crew second, and neither of those are served by throwing away lives and ships unnecessarily. Do you all understand?"  
  
  
\---------------------------------------------  
  
Several hours later he dismissed his last class of the afternoon and as the class filed out he addressed the two female cadets who had been patiently waiting outside the door for several minutes.  
  
"Cadets, you have some business with me?" he inquired, lifting his eyebrows at them. As he spoke he gathered his datapads and other materials into a neat pile and inserted it into his briefcase. With briefcase in hand he came to the door. "Walk with me," he directed, and they fell into step obediently beside him as he headed for the outside door. In his peripheral vision he saw Cadet Sheplin glance an encouraging look past him at her friend who walked on his other side. Cadet Rabor acknowledged the support with a tiny smile, yet glanced away after as if to gather her nerve.  
  
"Yes, sir - Commander Thrawn," she began, trying to sound businesslike but her voice a trace hesitant. "I- I have a request and I know it's out of the ordinary, but I think you could understand the matter better than my advisor."  
  
Cadet Sheplin walked ahead to open the outer door for the trio, revealing another cadet heading in who smartly stepped aside. The purplish-white blond of his hair made Tyber Zann very recognizable even in uniform.    
  
"Commander," he said politely to Thrawn. "Ladies," he added a bit too smoothly to the two female cadets.  
  
" _Cadets_ ," Thrawn corrected him coolly. Anger flashed across the young man's face, and the very fact that he let Thrawn see it showed a lack of discipline or a lack of respect for Thrawn - or likely both. "As you were, Cadet," Thrawn added brusquely as their little group passed.  
  
When they had walked several yards away and Zann had disappeared into the building, both Sheplin and Rabor exhaled in clear relief and gave their instructor small grateful smiles. Zann's apparent inability to see females as colleagues or anything but female was one of the reasons his female classmates were, almost without exception, unimpressed with him and brushed off his attempts to charm them.  
  
"Rabor, you have a request?" Thrawn prompted her mildly, and then added,  "Would this have to do with the Priority Urgent transmission you received from your homeworld last night?"  
  
Cadet Rabor stopped dead, her eyes wide as she regarded her teacher. Thrawn expertly hid his amusement as he paused to face her, for although he would never admit it, he found the cadet's expressiveness mildly endearing. Hers was a very open and emotional culture, a characteristic which deterred many of them from Imperial service because they couldn't manage the icy calm required. Rabor was disciplined enough to control her responsiveness as she needed to for the Academy, and Thrawn understood that her occasional mild 'slips' in his company were a result of her trust in him not to hold them against her.  
  
"S-Sir? You heard my message?" she questioned worriedly.  
  
"I respect my students' privacy, Cadet," his cool tone contrasted the implied reassurance of the words, "However it is my concern to know when one of them receives a message of such high priority."  
  
"Because they usually mean some kind of problem or trouble?" her frown relaxed into a small half-smile, which widened when he gave her a brief nod.  
  
"Precisely. As I assume this one did?" he lifted his eyebrows politely.  
  
"Yes, sir. It was from my great-grandmother, to tell me that one of my cousins was in a flitter accident yesterday. She'll recover, but she has to stay in bacta for a few days." She paused, her gaze slanting away, and he stayed silent to allow her to gather her thoughts. Beside her, Cadet Sheplin rested a comforting hand on her friend's sleeved forearm. "I- Sir, if it's at all possible I should go back. Only for a few days, but I have to leave soon." She bit her lip slightly, obviously looking for a way to explain.  
  
Thrawn saved her the trouble."Am I safe in speculating that this is regarding the Prima Dance?"  
  
Again she gave him wide eyes for a moment, and then relaxed enough to chuckle. Thrawn's casual seeming-omniscience was a running joke around the Academy and his 'crew' were well accustomed to it.  
  
"Yes, sir. Mine is one of the five families who participate every year: one person from each living generation of each family. I thought my leaving for the Academy wouldn't be a problem since both of my cousins are qualified, but one came up pregnant right after I left and now the other is in no condition to dance."  
  
"I understand the importance of your customs to you, but you know that will not be enough for the Commandant even if I support your request." The words might otherwise have been discouraging but Thrawn's tone was prompting, inviting her to make a better case for her request.  
  
"Yes sir, but things are getting... unsettled back home. There are always a few malcontents complaining, but lately the Rebellion has people scared and they're worried that the Empire is bringing trouble down on us. The Prima Dance may seem like a silly custom, but it happens every year and it hasn't been broken for three hundred years. If it's broken this year because I'm away at the Academy, some would view it as proof the Empire is bad luck for us. But if the Academy releases me long enough to go back for the Dance, it would soothe a lot of the unrest in my province- convince them that the Empire isn't some soulless entity with no regard for our world. That the Empire respects our traditions and customs. It could strengthen loyalty toward the Empire, and help avert potential trouble in the future, just by a small gesture now."  
  
Thrawn's red eyes met hers as he considered, and the young cadet remained silent, meeting his gaze steadily.  
  
Commander Thrawn smiled. "Very good, Cadet, well reasoned," he complimented, and the young woman stood a little straighter, pleased by the praise. "That is the case I made to the Commandant when placing the request on your behalf."  
  
Pretending to not notice her astonishment, he blithely drew a small datapad from his pocket and held it up between them. A faint squeak escaped the young woman before she clasped her hand over her mouth in shocked delight. "You're to report to the Light Cruiser _Indomitable_. It leaves six and a half hours from now, and will get you back in time for the dance. You'll return thirty-six hours later and be back for week's end."  
  
She moved her hand from her mouth, revealing a smile of amazed relief as she reached for the datapad. Thrawn moved it away slightly before she could take it, his businesslike expression softening to subtle humor.  
  
"I will want something in return, however." His voice was lighter now, with a hint of teasing.  
  
Such a statement from a different instructor could have seriously worried the young cadet, but from Commander Thrawn it only elicited a puzzled smile. "Yes, sir?"  
  
"A recording of the dance. A good quality one, mind you."  
  
"All two hours of it?"  
  
"Yes." A microscopic smile touched his lips as he offered her the pad again.  
  
"Very good, sir." She couldn't quite suppress a smile despite the formality of the words as she took the proffered datapad. "Thank you so much! You'll have the best I can arrange."  
  
"I would expect no less, Cadet. Safe journey."  
  
Thrawn smiled at the cadets' backs as they hurried off. Teaching was not an easy job, but sometimes it had its rewards. And besides, he thought as he turned away, the knowledge he was gaining of the skills and loyalties of the Empire's future officers could prove to be very useful in the coming years.


End file.
